Move over Robin, Salty the Seahorse is about to have a new sidekick in Ollie the Octopus.   Of course, Salty only meets Ollie after kids across town finish building him at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library on Tuesday nights from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. throughout July and August.  Ollie is being built as part of the library’s “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” summer program that began June 28 and lasts until August.

“The environment is our theme this year and we like the idea of creating some lasting art for the library,” said Elizabeth Sherry, the adult services librarian.  “Something we can display and talk about.”

To that end the library is collecting anything from plastic bottles to chicken wire in order to construct Ollie who is currently a plywood mount with a trash barrel on top.  “The materials were all donated by our patrons and one of our librarian’s husbands built this,” Sherry said referencing the steel, wood and plastic base participants are constructing Ollie around bit by bit.  “We’ll get nothing decomposable, I hope,” she added with a laugh.

“I’m just here for fun, I used to be an art teacher,” said Kate Butler of Mattapoisett, a former art teacher assisting Sherry with the project.

“Kate came to my class and told me they were going to build this so I came,” said O.R.R. junior Alyssa Siefert sitting amidst piles of pipe cleaners, scrap paper and markers in the lower level of the library with Kate and Elizabeth.  For tonight, the three are content to work up a solid blueprint for Ollie.  Construction will begin in subsequent meetings.

“We hope to have it on display,” said Sherry.  “The more we add to it the more we’ll want to show it off.”

Sherry hopes the project grows considerably as Ollie slowly takes shape.  “Luckily it has wheels because we’re hoping it’ll be pretty big,” she said.

Sherry also hopes that the attending crowd grows along with Ollie, noting that while turnout was pretty low for the first meeting, “people usually join in as the weeks go by.”

To join in, contact Elizabeth Sherry at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library at (508) 758-4171 and remember to keep checking Sippican VillageSoup as we track Ollie’s progress throughout the summer.